As the song goes:
You don't know what you've got till it's gone.
Pave paradise, put up a parking lot.
There's a song, poem or line from Shakespeare drama or Winston Churchill to suit every situation
"Nothing is new under the sun"
True as far as it goes but If new to the person impacted, it's certainly new.
Eight years ago this blog wa new. I had owned a computer for a while and picked up a smattering of knowledge. Not enough to stop me from spending a ridiculous sum for a web site domaine which turned out to be a total waste because what I contemplated could be done without it.
Early Council meetings were not on T.V. Social media wasn't even a dot on the horizon.
It took a while to get used to the potential. My mind functioned as always thinking ..." people need to know that aspect of this or that"
Then I would think . "Hey....wait a minute.....I can tell them "
Letters to the editor had been a practice. Politics seemed a natural evolution.
In the beginning Heather Sisman was the guiding hand All kinds of silly-billy stuff was thrown in for fun. Eventually I had to manage alone and blog came down to basics.
Rival politicians became conscious of the advantage but not enough to partake. Though It cost nothing but time and energy , the potential risk of revealing too much of themselves might have been the problem.
The Aurora Citizen emerged ,Chris Watts and Anna's photographic journal evolved. Now Anna
occasionally dips toes into politics particularly on environmental matters
The Aurora Citizen Blog was effectively silenced when legal action using town resources was initiated against three blog moderators because of an anonymous comment harshly critical of the Mayor.
The defence was successful but with a huge price to be paid both in stress and finances.
The Aurora Citizen had a far more professional format than my own. Had it kept going, It would have undoubtedly have become a force and an opportunity for citizen participation and involvement.
An election was held. The parties responsible for the litigation were removed from office.
But the Voice of the Aurora Citizen was heard no more.
The community is not better for it.
ReplyDelete"The community is not better for it."
How very true.
But you are doing your part and it's greatly appreciated by many.
The blog is missed - it was a daily vitamin.
ReplyDeleteI think the Citizen could come back under the right hands. But that would be a difficult decision to be made. Not everyone
ReplyDeletewould be prepared for what happened once and could happen again. In the meantime, it remain in place for those unfamiliar
with the history to read if they are so inclined.
No one can ever challenge your integrity Evelyn, but courageous is also a characteristic that can never be challenged.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteThis is from an op-ed column by David Brooks in today's New York Times.
It is headed "The American Idea and Today's G.O.P."
"America was settled, founded and built by people who believed they were doing something exceptional. Other nations were defined by their history, but America was defined by its future, by the people who weren't yet here and by the greatness that hadn't yet been achieved.
Today there are some conservative commentators and Republican politicians who talk a lot about American exceptionalism. But when they use the phrase they mean the exact opposite of its original meaning. In fact, they are effectively destroying American exceptionalism.
These commentators and candidates look backward to an America that is being lost.
Out of this backward- and inward-looking mentality comes a desire to exclude. Donald Trump talks falsely and harshly about Hispanic immigrants. Ben Carson says he couldn't advocate putting "a Muslim in charge of this nation."
The Republican Party is led by people who are profoundly uncomfortable with the changing (and inevitable) demographic nature of our nation. The G.O.P is longing to return to the past and is fearful of the future. It is a party that is characterized by resentments and grievances, by distress and dismay.
A definitive report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine recently found today's immigrants are assimilating as fast as previous ones. They are learning English. They are healthier than native-born Americans.0 Immigrant men age 18 to 39 are incarcerated at roughly one-fourth the rate of American men."
ReplyDeleteHarper can breathe easier and go window shopping once again.
France has offloaded to Egypt the two Mistral warships it refused to deliver to Russia, bringing to an end a delicate diplomatic affair but failing to clear doubts over the cost of the dispute.
The price was about 950 million Euros - equivalent to the amount that France was forced to reimburse Russia - according to a person close to the French defence minister.
This is about $1.4 billion loonies.
Are you back ? I do hope so. Maybe just a weekly post if you are busy the rest of the time ?
ReplyDelete13:51
ReplyDeleteI wish those whacky Republicans would stop claiming to be conservatives. Their current party is a thing of itself and has nothing to do with the original one. Sort of like here, I guess.